Sears feeling good

Freddie Sears has admitted at how much he is enjoying life at West Ham United.

The striker, who only turned 19 last month, says he is relishing working alongside the more experienced strikers at Chadwell Heath. The England Under-19 international can draw on the experience of four international strikers at the club, covering Spain, Italy, England and Wales.

"Obviously it is great to be playing with Bellars, Coley, Diego and David [Di Michele], we also have Deano although he is out injured at the moment," Sears said. "I have seen Bellars and Coley playing and to be playing with experienced players like that is only a good thing for me.

"All the boys give me advice, on and off the pitch and that's great for me, as I can only learn from that. Bellars and myself are similar players, he already has had a great career and is still going strong, and hopefully I can follow in his footsteps."

It certainly appears that the mentoring his fellow strikers and manager are providing is bearing fruit, as the youngster added to his already impressive goal-to-games ratio with a brace in a friendly reserve game on Thursday.

"When you are a striker and are playing in games all you want to do is get on the scoresheet and get noticed. I think I've been doing well in the reserve games and in every game I'm playing I'm looking to score. I'm just waiting for another chance and for another run in the team."

The goals came as a timely reminder for Gianfranco Zola, who is considering his attacking options for the weekend trip to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Sears, unsurprisingly, would love to be involved.

"It's a massive game on Sunday. It's going to be hard so if we get something out of it, it will be an extra bonus. Obviously it's going to be nice for Gianfranco and Steve Clarke going back there so it should be a good day.

"Anything could happen. We could beat them or nick a point. Chelsea are a great side but they haven't been consistent in every game this year. It would be great to go up against England's captain John Terry and people like Frank Lampard. Just to play at Stamford Bridge would be great."

West Ham United were undefeated in three before last Monday's setback against Tottenham Hotspur, but are still in good form on the road with three matches unbeaten. Hornchurch-born Sears felt the pain of losing that derby match as much as anyone, but is certain the team have enough quality to bounce back.

"Losing to Spurs was gutting as a West Ham fan. It's great when you win but it is horrible when you lose. We just need a little lift now. We've had a little down moment against Spurs so now we've got to lift it again for the next game."